French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe yesterday accused the Syrian government of “massacring” its civilians who are seeking more freedom and democracy.

“The attitude of Syria is unacceptable,” he said.

“One cannot continue massacring the civilian population under the pretext that this population aspires to have more freedom and democracy,” Mr Juppe said on the sideline of an international meeting on Libya in Abu Dhabi.

He said he hoped that a proposed resolution condemning repression in Syria will be “voted on at the UN Security Council in the coming days”.

The council began on Wednesday debating the draft resolution presented by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow opposed the idea of a Security Council vote condemning Syria’s crackdown on opposition protests.

Damascus is Moscow’s closest ally in the Middle East. Russia has a naval base at Tartus in Syria.

Meanwhile, the number of Syrians who have fled to Turkey fearing bloodshed in their country has increased by some 600 to 2,500, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday, news channel NTV reported.

The total number of refugees was nearly 1,900 earlier Thursday, according to Anatolia news agency.

The arrivals have sharply increased since Tuesday, with most refugees fleeing the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur, some 40 kilometres from the Turkish border, where tensions have flared amid Damascus’s accusations that protesters killed 120 policemen.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured on Wednesday that Turkey would keep its door open to Syrians fleeing repression.

“It’s not possible for us to shut our doors at a time when deadly violence is on the rise (in Syria) and our brothers there are looking for shelter,” Mr Erdogan said in further remarks yesterday, according to Anatolia.

Measures have been put in place in two other provinces neighbouring Syria – Mardin and Gaziantep – to meet a possible refugee wave, he said.

Later yesterday, witnesses said tanks were heading for the Syrian flashpoint town.